Crimson Dawn: Epilogue
Memorial Square - Crystal City The city's tallest towers form a ring around the city's center, more like a hexagon than a square due to the intersection of three thoroughfares. These lofty, deep-seated towers, sturdy yet graceful, block out the view of the rest of the city and dominate the square with sheer height. In the darkness of night, the glittering crystals absorb the bright starlight and reflect them onto the dark, mirroring indigo steel, doubling the twinkling lights. Linked by a series of seemingly-delicate aerial walkways, the glinting towers form the base of what looks like a six-sided spiderweb touched by dew. The "strands" are of the same indigo steel/titanium alloy as the towers themselves, but the numerous, everpresent crystals give them a deceptively gossamer aspect. In the center of the square is a perfect, miniature copy of the original Crystal City sculpted from sparkling quartz crystal and lit from beneath. Arcee is gone from the immediate vicinity, in vehicle mode as she takes Zipline and Widget to a safer location. But she definitely has plans on returning as soon as she possibly can. Last time on TF 2K5, Blurr was racing inside a prison building against a death-defying wall of spikes sent after him by Soundwave- when the Autobot speedster reached his target and pushed a lever to free the prisoners. However, it was about this time the wall slammed into the Autobot, and the whole building came nearly crumbling down thanks to the fight outside (including the rather unhelpful actions of Devastator). Meanwhile, Blast Off was circling around the building, being driven up the wall because his arch-nemesis Blurr is SOOOO close and yet SOOOO far. Unable to get inside, he kept circling, and circling...until... FINALLY! An order from Soundwave that he may look into what's left of the building and attempt to finish off the speedster. (As if Blast Off was going to even wait for that order anyway, once he saw a chance to get inside)... as soon as he can, he flies down and transforms back to root mode, stepping inside what's left of the building. Normally he wouldn't DARE enter such a risky ...and claustrophobic... place... but the lure of destroying Blurr is too much to resist right now. It seems Blast Off's obsession with Blurr is getting the better of him! Normally he would know not to place himself at such a disadvantage, but this time the temptation is too great, it seems! Inside, Blurr had pushed the lever down, but only some of the cells opened up--the system had sustained considerable damage thanks to Devastator. So when Blast Off comes in, he would find Blurr on a different floor, practically torn to shreds but still determined to finish the job. So he's searching for the main power conduit to cut. No power, no cell barriers, that's for sure... Combat: Blurr sets his defense level to Protected. Blast Off looks down and through the gaping holes of the wreckage spots Blurr on a floor below him. Violet-gray optics glint maliciously with a deep purple as he raises his ionic blaster. The sniper isn't going to warn Blurr... of course not. Steady, aim... FIRE! Once the shot has been taken, THEN it's time to start taunts of his own. "Well, well, Blurr. That should've straight out offlined you, but you never did have much sense. Let's see how much you feel like taunting me /now/ that I can get inside here with you.... and guess what? /I'm/ at full strength and you look like you're barely standing." He takes a step forward and looks coldly down at Blurr. "Basically a reversal of the last time we met..." Blast Off is half-tempted to go look for a sharp pointed object to stab the Autobot with. Just because... payback time. Once Arcee has handed Widget off to Zipline, she turns right back around and sneaks back toward the scene of chaos, intending to recover what's left of Blurr, if at all possible. Her return trip is through the underground tunnels so it won't be as obvious to patrolling Decepticons. Grumman X-29 however, would be quite obvious to any patrolling Decepticons. His blasters are making a trail of fire as he flies towards the area, hoping to capitalise on any chaos or damaged systems following Devastator's rampage. Even if he can't get in, he's at least trying to draw attention away from Arcee Blurr is hardly in any shape to answer. He...looks like he's been run over by a Bonecrusher, or ten. He's still Blurr, though, so he manages to juuust barely dodge the sniper's shot that time. He probably won't be able to keep it up for much longer, though. Still determined to press on, he reaches weakly for a keypad in the wall, to which he attaches a round device that quickly overrides the security. A panel opens and inside is a series of circuits and conduits. How did he know where this was all along? Well he's Intellgience CO, he's the one all the field operatives and double agents report to. He draws his weapon and holds it up against the power main...Can Blast Off stop him? Eventually, when she gets close enough, the tunnels begin to get unpassable due to collapse from Devastator's earlier rampage up top. So Arcee locates an exit, then ventures up to the top once more, hoping that any Decepticons who ARE left in the area are otherwise indisposed. She's glad that Dogfight is covering her from the air; that's one less thing she needs to be concerned about, as she carefully approaches what once was the entrance to the underground prison. "...What a mess." She sighs, then tightbeams to Dogfight, "<< I'm going to try to get inside there to retrieve Blurr, but it looks bad. >>" Combat: Blast Off compares his Accuracy to Blurr's Agility: Failure :( Blast Off sees Blurr just avoid his shot and huffs slightly. Optics narrow as he flies down to get closer. (Not TOO close, of course, but... perched just a little above Blurr's head on one of the building's fallen support beams.) Then he sees what Blurr's about to do. Oh no you don't! The Combaticon immediately shoots at Blurr's hand, hoping to just shoot it off entirely- but at the very least... knock it away before Blurr can fire. On the surface, a poor one-winged Gumby seeker crashes from the sky into the streets, his other wing shorn off by Dogfight's blades as he makes a pass over the area. With Arcee in, now he's just focusing on drawing all of the attention to himself and away from the other Autobots. <> Dogfight replies, before making another zoom over the area. Alas, Blast Off is just a trifle too late. The shot grazes Blurr's arm, but not before he manages to fire into the power main, severing it in one shot. There is a low-sounding hum and the prison's systems suddenly go offline, plunging the entire complex into darkness. There is a shout from the cell blocks as the inmates suddenly start charging out of their confinement. Arcee probably picked the wrong time to descend into the prison, but she knows that it's now or never. As the lights go out and the prisoners begin their mad rush to escape, Arcee leaps up and clings to a central support beam in the ceiling, one of the few things in the place that hasn't yet caved entirely. Blast Off bristles as Blurr manages to succeed anyway. Slag, he really hates this guy. With an annoyed sigh, the sniper immediately turns on his little red infrared light- the one he uses when he want some light... but not too much to make him obvious. The prisoners? Who cares. Blast Off's quarry is right here, and that's all that matters. A sharp, ragged piece of metal is suddenly there in his line of sight, and he pulls away, annoyed- and then looks back to it. Hmmm. While Blurr is blinded, perhaps this would be the time for payback? He runs his hand along the beam, then snaps it off. Optics glowing purple in the darkness, Blast Off grips the beam, then lunges straight for Blurr, trying to impale the Autobot just as Blurr did him! Normally, an attack like this wouldn't do much... Blast Off doesn't have a lot of strength, after all... but Blurr is beat up... bad. Blurr's armor is already nearly destroyed. THIS time, it might just do some real damage. Combat: Blast Off strikes Blurr with his PAYBACK TIME-Let's GET close and personal! (Grab) attack! Combat: Blast Off (Blast Off) used "Grab": A Level 0 MELEE attack. Someone is interested in the prisoners though, Dogfight! Or more specifically, interested in twisting, turning in midair, and then continuing to raise chaos for the defence outside in order to give them a chance to escape. Decepticon channels in the area are probably going crazy round about now. Arcee is now inside the deep, dark, dungeon-hole of a prison. Her blue optics shining brightly in the darkness would probably give her away, although she's banking on the fact that no one's actually LOOKING for her in this place. She's crawling along a rafter-beam, descending into the pit and trying to hone in on the noises she's hearing past the escaping prisoners. The ex-prisoners are running rampant all over the place, just causing chaos in general. One of them is bound to cause trouble for Blast Off, but not before the Combaticon manages to stab Blurr in the chassis. The ragged piece of metal is driven through his body, and his optics widen, energon spews everywhere, pouring from his mouth, and his grievous wounds. He slowly crumples to the floor. Blast Off had better get out of there soon, though...the structure of the prison is about to give way, and the rioting inmates are making it even worse! Blast Off finally...succeeds!!! The slowly stewing anger he's felt about getting stabbed by Blurr before... not once, but twice... makes this victory all the sweeter. If only he could make this moment last forever..... Watching as Blurr crumples to the floor, Blast Off's optics flash a livid purple in the darkness... it might even be a little scary to anyone who happened to see him right now. But he's obviously been swept up in passion of the moment, since there's no way he'd normally have gone in here, nor gotten so close to an enemy. Fists clench as he raises his blaster to aim it dead center at Blurr's head. One shot to the cerebro cortex, and then the laser core. Blurr's not coming back from this one. No, the final victory is HIS. As he knew it would be all along. He almost feels like.... laughing! Suddenly, some prisoners come scrambling into the room, scuttering through the darkness in a mad rush for freedom. Blast Off is forced to jump back to avoid getting knocked into by a very burly, massive mech. A rumble also suddenly shakes the building.... it's looking- and feeling- pretty unstable, and for a moment the Combaticon's claustrophobia pings at him. He glances nervously up... but then back where Blurr is. Torn, he hesitates.... Arcee, who is very nearby, still hanging upside-down from one of the sole surviving ceiling beams, fires a shot above Blast Off's head to get some debris collapse happening there. Maybe that will...encourage him to move on, so she can get to what's left of Blurr. Maybe. She just doesn't have the energy left for a full-out battle. Prisoners are starting to come out of the entrance, which is making Dogfight's job all that much harder. The fighter is laughing internally at least, leading three somewhat charred seekers on another mad dash across the city as the chaos spreads through the streets. However, with his systems focusing on keeping him stable, he takes a look below, giving him a chance to notice the shaking. <> he radios down. It definitely doesn't look stable at all. The walls are crumbling around them. Blast Off doesn't have much time! Arcee's shot loosens a good-sized chunk of ceiling above the Combaticon's head, and he if doesn't move fast, he might just find himself just as wrecked as Blurr is. And he might get trampled by inmates, too, as they are making a mad dash for an exit on top of all the chaos that's already happening. As for Blurr, he just lies their helplessly, completely at Blast Off's mercy. Though, Blast Off is at his environment's mercy, too... Blast Off suddenly finds the building is collapsing on him! (Not knowing Arcee "helped" it along...) His claustrophia kicks in, as well it should given the circumstances, and the Combaticon starts scrambling backwards in a hurry. Ever since the Detention Center, he's been none too fond of enclosed places, though it usually doesn't interfere with him doing his job. But this is a bit much... and in fact, anyone in their right mind would be feeling a bit claustrophobic right now. And the fear for his own life is finally returning him to /his/ right mind. Well, there goes that "laughing" feeling. With one final look at Blurr lying there, he yells, "I TOLD you I OWED you... and I ALWAYS pay back my DEBTS!" Then he flies up the way he came. But as he heads back- that opening suddenly collapses! Slag it all... Now truly worried, he sees a little light coming from elsewhere, and starts heading towards it, trying to get out in time..... Taking a big risk because she's running out of time, Arcee drops down off the ceiling beam and scurries over to Blurr, trying to un-impale him so she can just pick what's left of him up. "Hang on, this is going to be close," she says. Then she tightbeams out to Dogfight, "<< I'm working on it. Blast Off's headed out. See if you can tag him. >>" Dogflight clearly does not sound too happy as he radios back <<... All right. Don't get yourself killed.>> before engaging his afterburners and leaving a trail of fire behind him. He begins to circle the building site, watching out for any certain brown and purple spaceships who might be trying to escape. Arcee has to practically peel Blurr off of the floor. Needless to say he's in terrible shape. And he still has that piece of metal sticking out of his body, covered in energon and other body fluids. Blast Off makes it out all right, though not without getting smacked by falling debris a few times. Perhaps he'd lingered inside for juuuust a bit too long. Blast Off gets pelted by some more debris, scuffing his usually shiny and well-maintained paint job. It hurts the already somewhat fragile shuttleformer, but he keeps scrambling up towards the light anyway. Just as he is almost out, an especially large chunk falls and nearly knocks him back inside. "Gah!" Stunned for a moment, he shakes his head, then somehow pushes it aside and makes his way to the light. Holding a hand to his optics, he stands at the entrance, blinking into the light of day as his systems adjust from the near-pitch darkness he's been immersed in. "C'mon, hotshot," Arcee says as she scoops up the remnants of Blurr. He's surprisingly light, which gives her pause, but she can't really look around and make sure she's gotten all the parts; the place is literally collapsing. So she forges ahead, blasting a path as she goes, barely keeping up as the place caves around them. But progress is being made, and she manages to get out with microseconds left to spare. Dogfight sees Blast Off come out from the building but... No Arcee or Blurr. Right, that's all Dogfight needs for his anger to get the better of him. Mid-air, the Grumman transforms into his robot form and, using his momentum, attempts to slam Blast Off's head into the ground. Combat: Dogfight strikes Blast Off with its Head meet Floor (Punch) attack! Yes, Blurr is very light, he has to be, in order to be as fast as he is. Good thing for Arcee, though! It makes him much easier to carry. Blast Off is standing there, optics adjusting and... wait, what's that shape rushing towards him? Still a little disoriented, the Combaticon can't quite dart out of the way in time. Suddenly someone has grabbed his head and uses the momentum of their approach to wrest Blast Off from his perch and slam him down, down- until they hit the ground! WHACK. "Aaaiigh!" Startled, then angry- plus worried at this new enemy's close attack- Blast Off starts trying to scramble away from Dogfight's grip and gain some distance again, raising his blaster up to fire at this new Autobot. "You'll... regret that!" Combat: Blast Off strikes Dogfight with his Wait now I don't want up close and personal.... (Laser) attack! -1 Dogfight seems to show no emotion at having smashed Blast Off from his perch, but then the laser blast strikes him. With a laugh, his face contorts into a sinister grin as his Blowtorch Blasters flip down. Dogfight points one of the guns at Blast Off and fires, hoping to buy Arcee and Blurr some more time to escape or, well, just to beat up a Decepticon. Can never be sure with Dogfight Combat: Dogfight misses Blast Off with its Blowtorch Blaster (Laser) attack! Blast Off is more prepared this time, and when he sees the blowtorch- no thanks. The agile Combaticon leaps away while holding his heatshield-clad arms up as a further protection from the fire. "Who the *slag* are you supposed to be, anyway?" He looks coldly down at the Autobot as he lifts up into the air again and aims his weapon, firing off a bigger blast this time. "Are you suicidal? This is Decepticon territory..." Combat: Blast Off strikes Dogfight with his If you're looking to commit suicide I'd be happy to help you attack! -2 Combat: Dogfight sets its defense level to Aggressive. Dogfight is blasted back with that shot, though manages to keep himself stable. "Me? Well, name's Dogfight. Hope we don't meet again" he says, before transforming and attempting to fly right at Blast Off! Swiftly, Dogfight shifts into his jet mode Combat: Grumman X-29 misses Blast Off with its Say Hello to my Bladed Wings! (Smash) attack! -1 Blast Off watches Dogfight came at him and ...what the slag are THOSE? The jet's wings look like something Blast Off *definitely* doesn't want to get up close and personal with... and he dodges to the left just in time. "Dogfight? I... see." Not a promising name. Blast Off hovers further back, going for more distance. "Well, good, I don't either... and I can arrange that for you... Right now!" With that, he aims his blaster again, firing a short burst. "I am Blast Off.. the one who can "shuffle you off this mortal coil"." He adds smugly, "As I just did to your blue racer friend....." Combat: Blast Off strikes Grumman X-29 with his Shuttle to Shuffle you off this Mortal Coil (Laser) attack! -1 Grumman X-29 groans as his jet mode adjusts, attempting to pass back over. "Well, I was instead implying that I was going to kill you instead, but... Ghr!". That one hurt as well. Dogfight pulls up, almost seeming as if he's going to launch up into the sky, but instead his rear blowtorch blasters activate, glowing red hot. And with a loud *FWOMP* they attempt to burn the ground beneath them, which may include Blast Off if he's in the way of that ground! Combat: Grumman X-29 strikes Blast Off with its Rear Blowtorch Blasters attack! Blast Off watches as he strikes Dogfight, then the Autobot appears to be launchingup into the sky. The Combaticon focuses, raising his weapon to fire as the 'Bot retreats... but instead, Dogfight suddenly sends a rush of flamnes right at him! Surprised, he can't duck away in time. "Gah!" Slag it all, what's with him getting set on fire lately? Shaking his arms and trying to dispell any remaining flames, he glares at the Autobot jet. "I am not easy to kill... just ask Blurr. Oh wait, you can't.... not anymore." Then he grabs a piece of debris from the building, and hurls it towards him- trying to jam it up those blowtorch blasters! Combat: Blast Off strikes Grumman X-29 with his Take this instead (Punch) attack! Grumman X-29 really should have accelerated away and to freedom when he let his blasters off but... Nope, had to stick around for that scream of burning pain. Dogfight's hubris is rewarded with a piece of debris to one of his blasters which, while not causing significant structural damage, shakes him up enough to mess his internal systems. The plane almost seems to stall for a second as it climbs... Before Dogfight returns to the quip! "You know what they say, right? Don't count your casualties until you see the corpse" he says, turning once more and taking another dive past Blast Off, going for another wing clip! Though, his systems are not looking too great, its a high chance of just going wild. Combat: Grumman X-29 misses Blast Off with its This is going to hurt one of us! (Smash) attack! -1 Blast Off dodges that attack, too... though Dogfight's words give him pause. He glances back at the rubble.... wishing he could get back in there and make *sure* Blurr is truly dead. It would be just like that slagging Autofool NOT to be... But Blast Off doesn't have much time to go check... not with this Autobot on his aft. The Combaticon swings his weapon around, taking a shot as the jet flies onward. "Well- I'll start with yours, then... and go back for his. I do not understand such foolishness..." Combat: Blast Off strikes Grumman X-29 with his I'm still on fire aren't I? Slag it. attack! -2 Grumman X-29 almost slams into a nearby building as that attack misses, though he pulls up just in time! Unfortunately this leaves him wide open for Blast Off's counter attack which hits hard. While the fighter would love nothing more than to keep going against Blast Off, he's at least smart enough to realize this isn't the place. "... Guess I'll see you around" he says, activating his one blaster and attempting to fly off into the distance before another shot can come off. Combat: Grumman X-29 sets its defense level to Guarded. Combat: Grumman X-29 begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit. Blast Off scoffs as the Autobot retreats... but he's rather damaged himself, and besides... there are a lot of Decepticon patrols in the air right now. They can take care of him. "I certainly HOPE not. There are too many of you pests running around as it is..." The Combaticon realizes ...yes, slag it all, he's STILL on fire. Gah. He spends the rest of his time attempting to put out the fire. Then, after looking for a way back to make sure Blurr is really gone this time, but not finding one... he must finally simply let it rest. For now, he heads back to base for repairs. But all the while savoring a certain...victory. The sweet taste of success. If only it could last........